In the past, various ball valves have been developed for use in fluid handling apparatus (e.g., duplex strainers and filters). For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,722 discloses a duplex strainer having an upper ball valve and a lower ball valve housed within a housing of the strainer, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,401 discloses a filter having a pair of filter elements and a pair of ball valves mounted within a housing of the filter. These ball valves are typically mounted directly within the housings, and, as a result, they are installed directly in the housings during assembly of the fluid handling apparatus. Because of the large number of components associated with the ball valves (e.g., valve seats, valve stems, valve seals), installation and removal of the ball valves to and from the housings are made difficult and time-consuming.
Some plug-type or similar valves have been housed in liners or sleeves (see, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,977,969, 3,066,909 and 4,467,832). However, because these liners or sleeves are not specifically designed for ball valves, they are not adapted for use in installing ball valves in associated fluid handling apparatus. In the foregoing circumstances, there is a need for a device for facilitating installation and removal of ball valves to and from fluid handling apparatus.